Somerset native Kyle Quinn is throwing the javelin like a champ at Tennessee

Kyle Quinn is the first to say it's not that big a deal. Not at this time of the year. He doesn't want people thinking he is already a favorite to throw the javelin for the United States at the next Summer Olympics.

Kyle Quinn is the first to say it’s not that big a deal. Not at this time of the year. He doesn’t want people thinking he is already a favorite to throw the javelin for the United States at the next Summer Olympics.

But Quinn, of Somerset, certainly made some news in the world of college track and field last weekend. The red-shirt sophomore threw the javelin 78.28 meters (256 feet, 10 inches) at the Tennessee Relays.

That was the top NCAA throw this year. Third best in the country. And 15th best in the world.

“It feels good, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter that much,” the Somerset High graduate said.

Quinn’s mighty throw earned him second place at the Tennessee Relays. First place went to former Illinois State star Tim Glover, whose 84.01-meter throw is the best in the world this year (the world record in the javelin is 98.48 meters).

It is early in the track and field season, Quinn said, and some of the nation’s and world’s best throwers are just starting to crank it up. Even in the NCAA, the big meets that produce the big throws are still at least a few weeks down the line. In no way does he expect his 78.28 to reign supreme this season.

“Plenty of people in the NCAA right now have thrown that far,” Quinn said.

Quinn said he needs to be more consistent by the time the Southeast Conference meet and NCAA Nationals roll around. While he feels strong, he is still making too many technical and mental mistakes, too often curling his elbow instead of keeping his right throwing arm straight, he said.

At the Tennessee Relays, he launched his 78.28 on the last of his six throws. Over his first five throws, he failed to break 70 meters.

What excites Quinn more than his NCAA-best throw last weekend is the fact he’s healthy and competing.

During his junior year at Somerset, he injured his throwing shoulder and subsequently underwent surgery for a torn labrum. In his senior year, persistent elbow pain kept him out of the New England Championships. Tennessee had him undergo an MRI, with the results of that exam prompting Tommy John surgery.

Tennessee red-shirted him as a freshman, and he finally competed again last season, though there was elbow pain, tendinitis.

“This is basically my first full year of training without an injury,” he said.

His big throw last weekend did create a lot of excitement, right at the track. Quinn emphasized that such solid throw needs to be the rule, rather than the exception. The 78.28 in April will be meaningless, he said, if he cannot perform well at the SCC Championships and get to the finals of the nationals.

Page 2 of 2 - “That would be like a pitcher having a 1.50 ERA and then in the playoffs letting up home runs left and right,” he said. “It’s really the postseason stuff that matters.”

Then there’s that biggest of meets, aka the Olympics.

“Everyone has their dreams, hopes, wishes,” Quinn said. “I hope one day I’ll be in a position where I could hope to go to The Olympics. But that’s a long way off.”